The present invention relates to an article storage device of a motorcycle in which an article accommodation box or storage chamber is provided in a motorcycle (vehicle) body.
A motorcycle, particularly a scooter type motorcycle, has been provided with an article storage device including a large-capacity accommodation box capable of storing a large article such as a helmet at a position below a seat, the seat being attached to be opened and closed. Conventional example of such article storage device is for example disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 1-148679, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 6-156344 or other.
However, such article storage device has a capacity that can store only one large article such as helmet.
In addition, in recent years, according to large displacement of a motorcycle, in a scooter type motorcycle on which two persons can ride, an article storage device having a capacity and a structure capable of accommodating two helmets including a fellow rider""s helmet has been developed. Conventional examples of such article storage devices are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-59255, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 11-129969 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 11-129971.
However, in the article storage device having a capacity and a structure capable of storing two helmets, since two helmets are arranged in a longitudinal direction with respect to the front-and-rear direction of the vehicle body, a frame cover which covers the accommodation box and a body frame is extended backward of the vehicle body. Moreover, in a conventional structure, there is a case including a useless dead space in the article accommodation box.
The present invention has been conceived to solve the above matters, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an article storage device of a motorcycle which is capable of orderly storing large articles without imparting an adverse influence on a function of the vehicle driving or steering stability.
This and other objects can be achieved according to the present invention by providing an article storage device of a motorcycle disposed below a rider""s seat, comprising:
an article accommodation box having an article entrance port formed to be opened upward in a standing state of a motorcycle, the article entrance port having a lateral width larger than a lateral width of an outer peripheral edge of the seat; and
a cover member provided for a bottom portion of the seat so as to cover the article entrance port formed to the article accommodation box.
In a preferred example of this aspect, the seat includes a rider""s seat section on which a rider sits and a pillion section which is connected to a rear portion of the rider""s seat section and on which a fellow rider sits, and the article accommodation box has a maximum width portion at a rear portion more than a front end of a sitting portion of the pillion in a longitudinal direction of a body of the motorcycle.
Fellow rider foot rests for the fellow rider are disposed to lower portions of the motorcycle body on both lateral left and right sides of the seat and the maximum width portion of the article accommodation box is provided to a rear portion more than the fellow rider foot rests in the longitudinal direction of the motorcycle body. A width of a portion of the motorcycle body at which the article accommodation box has the maximum width is set to be smaller than an entire width of a handle bar of the motorcycle.
When two helmets are accommodated as article to be stored in the article accommodation box, the article accommodation box has an inner space in which the two helmets are arranged side by side in the width direction of the vehicle body in a plan view. The two helmets may be arranged in an overlapped state in the width direction of the motorcycle body.
The motorcycle is a scooter type motorcycle and the seat includes a rider""s seat section and a pillion section.
The cover member is fixed to an upper surface of a bottom portion of the seat by means of vises together with a seat cover of the seat.
According to the structures and characters of the present invention mentioned above, the article port (entrance/take-out port) of the article accommodation box is formed to be wider than the outer peripheral edge of the seat, and the cover member that covers the article port of the accommodation box is provided on the bottom plate of the seat. Therefore, a lot of large articles can be stored orderly without exerting a bad influence on the function of the vehicle driving or steering stability.
In addition, according to the present invention, the article port is formed to be wider than the outer peripheral edge of the seat so that the article port can be made larger than a conventional one, and a large article can be easily put in or out. Further, the cover member covering the article port of the article accommodation box is provided so that the article port can be made larger than a conventional one without damaging outer appearance.
Furthermore, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the article accommodation box has the maximum width portion on the rear position more than the sitting front end of the pillion so that the vehicle body below the rider seat can be made slim, and pedaling ability and riding properties of a rider can be improved.
Furthermore, the maximum width portion of the article accommodation box is positioned on the rear position more than the fellow rider foot rests. Accordingly, the rear body on the side of the article accommodation box hardly interferes with feet of a fellow rider sitting on the pillion section, and thus the riding properties can be improved.
The vehicle width dimension in the maximum width portion of the accommodation box is set to be smaller than the whole width of the handle bar of the motorcycle so as not to impart an adverse effect to narrow road passing ability of the vehicle.
Moreover, according to the present invention, two full-faced helmets can be accommodated in the article accommodation box in the side by side arrangement in the width direction of the motorcycle body with substantially no useless dead space therein. The article accommodation box can be applied to a scooter type motorcycle on which two riders can ride.
The nature and further characteristic features of the present invention will be made more clear from the following descriptions made with reference to the accompanying drawings.